Germany represents an important market, both in terms of area of cleanroom operations and in the export of cleanroom equipment and technology. In the first of a series of regionally focused reports Susan Birks reviews this major market
Currently Germany boasts the world’s fourth largest economy based on nominal GDP, and the fifth largest by purchasing power parity. Recognised as a scientific and technological leader in several fields, Germany has a strong presence in those sectors related to engineering, such as automotive, material science and plastics moulding, semiconductors and photovoltaics, printed electronics, robots and medical devices. As many of these industries require cleanroom facilities, the country also has a strong and thriving cleanroom sector.
Like many markets at the moment, Germany is having to rein in government borrowing and its taxes are high. Possibly due to these economic factors, it did not register a huge spend on cleanroom facilities in 2010 but has made some notable investments discussed later.
The country is best known for having Europe’s largest automobile market (4.9m passenger vehicles manufactured and 3.8m registrations in 2009). It has some 30 final assembly plants with a production capacity of more than a third of the total automobile production in Europe. The German auto industry invested €21bn in r&d in 2009 (a 4.5% increase on the previous year) – equivalent to 36.5% of total German industry r&d expenditure.
A less well-known fact is that microelectronics is one of the country’s fastest-growing industry sectors, and the country offers Europe’s largest market potential for automotive and industry electronics. Estimates* predict that by 2012, per capita microelectronics consumption in Germany will be the second highest in the world, surpassed only by Japan.
The country is one of the few in Europe to have a recognisable presence in semiconductors and chip production. For example, the Abu Dhabi-controlled GlobalFoundries’ Fab 1 in Dresden is recognised throughout the industry as one of the most advanced semiconductor production facilities. Fab 1 represents one of the biggest international investments in Germany with a total spend to date of more than $6bn (€4.6bn). Its maximum (full) capacity is 80,000 300mm wafers/month (180,000 200mm wafers/month equivalent) and it can cater for 45nm technologies and below.
The country also makes equipment for use in semicon production. InnoLas Semiconductor, in the Bavarian region of Krailling, for example, is a market leader in laser systems for wafer marking, as well as machines for wafer sorting and inspection. According to the company, its own cleanroom system, installed in 2009, has enabled a whole new quality level to be reached, with five stages of overpressure in order to prevent the entry of particles from a lower to a higher class of cleanroom.
Organic LEDs, organic photovoltaics, and printed circuits are other areas in which German companies are making international headlines.
Dresden-based Heliatek recently broke the efficiency record for organic photovoltaic cells, posting a new efficiency level of 8.3%. Jointly founded by the Technical University of Dresden and the University of Ulm, its research location is appropriate, as Germany represents roughly 50% of all photovoltaic installations worldwide.
In the field of organic LEDs (OLEDs), OSRAM Opto Semiconductors is moving technology forward and building the first pilot line for OLEDs in Germany. The company is among the first to launch an OLED product for designer lighting.
The country’s printed electronics industry is showing success as well. American giant 3M has recently invested in the German printed electronics innovator Printechnologics, which has pioneered a new printed circuit application on paper, enabling the creation of electronic features on paper or foil.
Companies are drawn to Germany’s high-tech industries because of the country’s good reputation for engineering and productivity. At the same time, funding for high-tech fields is available. For organic electronics, r&d projects currently receive approximately €160m in funding provided by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and industry players.
Dresden-based Organic Electronics Saxony could be described as Europe’s largest cluster for organic semiconductor r&d and manufacturing. This cluster has access to a skilled workforce and proximity to Germany’s microelectronics players.
Internationally renowned research institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute, also co-operate with industry players along the value chain. Austrian lighting manufacturer Zumtobel, for example, formed the joint venture LEDON with Dresden-based Fraunhofer IPMS and now benefits from the proximity to the Organic Electronics Saxony cluster.
Medical devices
Germany is also Europe’s largest market for medical devices and ranked third worldwide with a market volume estimated at €23bn in 2008. The sector boasts more than 170,000 employees working for more than 11,000 companies (2008).
The country is also strong in moulded parts for medical devices and has numerous manufacturers providing high quality injection and blow moulding machines specifically aimed at the medical device markets. An example from the medical sector, Helix Medical LLC, opened Helix Medical Europe KG in 2010. It began production last year at its state-of-the-art 55,000ft2 facility located in Kaiserslautern, Germany.
Initial services include custom moulding of silicone components for medical devices with the plan to add custom moulding of thermoplastics and TPEs, multi-component moulding, as well as close tolerance single and multi-lumen extrusion of silicone and TPEs.
In terms of healthcare generally, the country has the third largest expenditure worldwide (10.4% of GDP). Germany spent approximately €253bn on healthcare in 2008 and employs some 4.4m workers in the sector. The country also boasts some 1,031 pharmaceutical companies and 500 biotech companies (2007), including major players such as Boehringer Ingelheim and Bayer Health Care; the latter recently announced a €3.5m investment in a new biopharmaceutical fermentation plant in Wuppertal.
Biopharmaceutical production at Boehringer Ingelheim, Biberach, Germany
Last year Baxter’s BioPharma Solutions business completed its third capacity expansion at the company’s cytotoxic contract manufacturing facility in Halle (Westfalen). The facility has been expanded to meet the need for cytotoxic (oncology therapies) manufacturing.
The expansion includes upgrades across multiple specialised capabilities offered. Most notably, a large-scale lyophilisation unit was added for increased freeze-drying capacity, which supports a large majority of the Halle manufacturing business. An additional phase of expansion is to be completed by 2012.
Germany claims to have more biotech companies than any other European country with more than 500 companies active in the sector and biotechnological sales from biotech companies of more than €2bn (2009).
In the field of nanotechnology, 2010 saw the merger of Germany’s two main nanotech networks cc-NanoChem and NanoBioNet. The Center for Nanotechnology (CeNTech), meanwhile, provides the infrastructure for direct and interdisciplinary collaborations involving faculties of the University of Münster (chemistry, physics, biology and medicine). It offers lab space specifically suited to nanotechnology needs, i.e. vibration-free foundations, cleanrooms, etc.
Fraunhofer support
Germany’s cleanroom sector is particularly helped and supported by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation. The Institute’s Ultraclean Technology and Micro-manufacturing department is an internationally renowned centre of excellence in the field of production processes conducted under cleanroom conditions. It develops solutions for the automotive, solar, semiconductor and life science industries.
The Fraunhofer Institute commissioned some new cleanrooms in 2010. The existing cleanrooms have been refurbished and upgraded, reducing energy consumption by up to 70%. In addition, the construction of a new heavy duty cleanroom with a ceiling height of 6m and a load-bearing capacity of up to 6t/m2 allows the institute to test large production components for the photovoltaic, flat screen or robotic industry.
To learn more about the German cleanroom sector, visit the country’s annual cleanroom trade fair, Lounges 2011, which takes place in Karlsruhe, Germany, 15 – 17 February 2011.
* All economic figures quoted are from Germany Trade and Invest